Saturday, August 22, 2026

Report on the Watergate Documentary

 Dear Friends,

The Film
On Sunday August 9 I attended a viewing of the documentary named "Watergate Secrets and Betrayals" at the Angelika theater.  It is based on the books of Geoff Shepard.  For all that I have heard and read about Watergate, the documentary did bring something new to light.

The author, Geoff Shepard, uncovered new and shocking information.  Using FOIA requests he got access to records at the National Archives. He went looking for records from the White House and discovered records from the Special Prosecutor, Leon Jaworski.  Mr. Shepard found a memo describing how the Special Prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, met in secret with Judge John Sirica and plotted how to send secret data from the grand jury to Senator Ervin's Watergate Committee.  Judge Sirica and Leon Jaworski both wanted to remove Nixon!  It could be argued that their misdeeds were as bad as Nixon's.

In the documentary we hear how John Dean changed his testimony.  We also learn that the 245 page testimony read by John Dean to the Committee was written by the Committee's lead counsel, Sam Dash.  John Dean admitted to destroying evidence.

You can stream the film at your home for $4 as a rental or $8 to own repeated access. Here is the website to view the film:  https://watergatesecret.com/.  You might want to view it.

The Interview with Geoff Shepard
After the film, our host arranged for an interview with Geoff Shepard, the author, on Zoom.  That was a fascinating time.  We learned that as a young lawyer he met Richard Nixon at an event in New York City.  Richard Nixon was kind to young Geoff Shepard, so when Richard Nixon became President then Geoff Shepard applied for a White House Fellowship and was on staff during Watergate.

Geoff Shepard said that he argued against the hiring of G. Gordon Liddy for the White House staff.  He was pleased when Liddy was reassigned to the Committee to Re-elect the President.  He thought that Liddy would do no harm there!  Mr. Shepard had many interesting comments.  Unfortunately, I did not bring a notebook.

He did mention how surprised he was to learn that a Navy Yeoman in the Communications Department copied secret documents from Henry Kissinger and gave the secrets to a Navy Admiral.  This is referred to as the Moorer-Radford Affair:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moorer-Radford_Affair

The Watergate burglars were mostly CIA contract workers.  With the CIA meddling in Nixon's campaign and the Navy spying on Nixon, this shocking behavior foreshadowed the Obama government interfering with the Trump campaign.

During his interview he pointed to a bookcase which contained every book written by any person associated with Watergate.  He has read and researched a lot.  Besides his own books, he recommended 2 other books:
Silent Coup: The Removal of a President by Len Colodny and Robert Gettlin
Secret Agenda: Watergate, Deep Throat, and the CIA by Jim Hougan

Geoff Shepard has placed a lot of research material on his website:  https://shepardonwatergate.com/.  He has a tab of research material: https://shepardonwatergate.com/watergate-overview/

Anti-Trump and Anti-Nixon
CNN put together a  4 part documentary on Watergate, 

Watergate, Blueprint for a Scandal starts off attacking Donald Trump and then focuses on attacking Richard Nixon.  If you have HBO Max or Amazon Prime then you can watch it.  The documentary keeps going back to attacking Trump.  The documentary paints Judge John Sirica as a hero.  Now we know that Sirica was guilty of judicial misconduct and that he violated Richard Nixon's constitutional rights.  It's amazing how decades later many people still revile Richard Nixon.

Leon Jaworski and John Sirica were not heroes.  They were scoundrels plotting against Nixon and his set of scoundrels.  It's worth your time to see the documentary that is available for streaming on https://watergatesecret.com/ Nixon certainly did wrong with Watergate, but he has been maligned beyond reasonable limits.  See Shepard's documentary to see a more balanced picture.

Thank you for your patience. 
Robert


Rules and Laws and Their Importance

 Dear Friends,

I want to share with you some thoughts on rules and laws.  In one political meeting a man who was once president of a Republican men's club asked why Robert's Rules existed.  Later a new precinct chair asked why we vote on rules in our County Party Organizational Meeting.  These are good practical questions, but there is a very deep connection between rules, laws, and the core of our American culture.
Our Laws and Our Culture
Our culture is rooted in English culture, which produced the Magna Carta in 1215:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta
This was an attempt to limit the power of the king, a big step forward in our culture.  Then in 1644 Samuel Rutherford wrote "Lex Rex", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lex,_Rex, which used "arguments from Scripture, Natural Law and Scottish law to attack absolutism and defend the rule of law."
In America in 1620, before the Pilgrims landed they wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact.  As President Calvin Coolidge wrote, "The compact which they signed was an event of the greatest importance. It was the foundation of liberty based on law and order, and that tradition has been steadily upheld" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower_Compact).
In 1838 Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous Lyceum Speech (http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/lyceum.htm).  There he said that our nation can commit suicide, but he gives us a path to save our nation.  Here is his advice for saving America:  "The answer is simple. Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others."
Notice the importance Lincoln placed on following our laws.  Now let's talk about rules.
The Importance of Rules
The English Parliament is very old and over hundreds of years the rules of Parliamentary Procedure were written in order to conduct business in an orderly fashion.  Lawmakers follow rules in the process of writing laws.  Robert's Rules of Order is a compilation of parliamentary procedures used across America in civic and social clubs.
The Adoption of Rules
When a legislative body first convenes, the first thing it does is to establish its rules for conducting business.  When the Constitutional Convention met, in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787, Charles Pinckney made a motion that a committee be appointed to "draw up rules to be observed as the standing Orders of the Convention."  [1]
After the Constitution was written it needed to be ratified.  In the Virginia Ratifying Convention, in Richmond, on June 3, 1788, John Tyler observed that "rules and regulations should be established to govern the convention."  Then there was a resolution made and passed:  "Resolved, That the rules and orders for conducting business in the House of Delegate, so far as the same may be applicable to the Convention, be observed therein." [2]
When a new deliberative body first meets after the election that selected the members, that body is new and needs to adopt rules for conducting business.  In the same way that the delegates to the Virginia Ratifying Convention decided to use rules that already existed in their Legislature, many deliberative bodies usually pick the last set of rules and continue using them.
When significant changes to the rules are made, voting members must make sure that the rule changes do not cheat them.  Precinct chairs in Collin County must know Robert's Rules of Order and the party rules in order to spot bad changes to the rules and to recognize when our party leadership doesn't follow the rules.

Summary
Our laws are a vital part of American and English history.  Our county and our culture depend on the rule of law.  Abraham Lincoln said that we should "swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country."
Lawmakers follow rules in their process of creating laws.  Precinct chairs should learn parliamentary procedure and the making of resolutions and speeches in order to learn how our legislature works.
Rules and laws are an important part of our culture, but sadly they are neglected.  Precinct chairs need to pay very close attention when the time comes to debate the rule changes that were postponed until after the November Midterm Elections.
We should all realize that the English system and philosophy of laws are an important part of our heritage, and part of the magic that makes America great.

Thank you for your patience.
Robert

References
1.  The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, Vol. 1, edited by Max Farrand, Yale University Press, 1966, page 2.
2.  The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, Vol. 3, edited by Jonathan Elliot, Jazzybee Verlag Jurgen Beck, Loschberg, Deutschland, page 2.
There is a free online version

Puzzling lawsuit by Byron Henry and Jim Herblin responding

 Dear Friends,

In an email on May 28, 2026, CC GOP party chair Byron Henry told the precinct chairs in the CC GOP that he had filed a temporary restraining order (TRO) against some precinct chairs.  On May 29 the party Executive Director sent all the PCs a copy of the TRO.  Reading the TRO we discovered that Byron Henry sued three precinct chairs:  Rachel Elliott, Jim Herblin, and Lee Breckenridge-Moore.  The TRO has an underlying lawsuit and the complaint was about an EC meeting called for June 1, when we had a meeting already scheduled.  Rachel Elliott sent the call for the meeting, but the lawsuit also named  Jim Herblin, and Lee Breckenridge-Moore.  That was puzzling because Lee and Jim did not have their names on the call-for-meeting.  Lee Breckenridge-Moore is an effective and hardworking PC that the Establishment has tried repeatedly to remove as an HD Chair.  It is as though the Establishment wants to punish Lee for being an effective leader.    Jim Herblin almost defeated Byron Henry in their contest for party chair.  Also, Jim Herblin has publicly called for Byron Henry's resignation, as described here:  Collin County Chair Byron Henry Asked to Resign, https://voteforcanright.blogspot.com/2026/02/collin-county-chair-byron-henry-asked.html.
Since Rachel issued the call-for-meeting without Lee's or Jim's names on the call, it doesn't make sense that Byron sued Lee and Jim.  It almost seems like Byron sued Lee and Jim to punish them for being leaders in the party.  Suing precinct chairs seems anti-Republican.
Also puzzling was that Terry Wade some years ago called a meeting in the same fashion as Rachel Elliott.  Byron Henry was the party General Counsel then and he did not sue Terry Wade.  I wrote about this event in this blog post:  When Terry Wade Removed Mark Reid, https://voteforcanright.blogspot.com/2026/06/when-terry-wade-removed-mark-reid.html
It is shocking to see the party chair suing precinct chairs.  All the Chairman needed to do was attend the meeting, take charge, and declare a lack of quorum or ask for a motion to adjourn the meeting.  I do not see the need to sue precinct chairs.  It seems like Lawfare.  Maybe someday I will investigate this matter further.  For now I will simply include below the contents of an email sent by Jim Herblin about the lawsuit.  This is important to all Republicans because the position of Party Chairman is on the ballot and all Republicans can vote for him.
Thank you for your attention to this troubling episode.  I question the health of our CC GOP party.
Robert

Here is a key statement from the email below:  Our Chairman used his party title to endorse his own law partner in a local election

Email sent previously by PC Jim Herblin about the TRO

On Tue, Jun 30, 2026 at 4:45 PM Jim Herblin  wrote:

To: All Collin County Republican Precinct Chairs

Re: The Truth About the TRO Filed Against Three of Our Own

 

Fellow Precinct Chairs, you deserve a full and honest account of what has transpired over the past several weeks within our party. What follows is a factual, chronological record — and it is deeply troubling.

 

May 2, 2026 — A Conflict of Interest Ignored 


Chairman Byron Henry publicly endorsed Frisco mayoral candidate Mark (https://markhill4mayor.com/about/) — his own law partner at the firm Henry Hill Firm LLC (https://henryhilltx.com/about/) — and did so using his title as CCGOP Chairman.  A personal endorsement is one thing.  Using the Chairman's title to lend party credibility to his business partner's campaign is another. See the attached photo and judge for yourself.


 


May 4, 2026 — A Precinct Chair Silenced


At the May EC meeting, Precinct 137 Chair John Donovan attempted to raise the topic of a potential endorsement in the Frisco mayoral runoff during the "New Business" agenda item — precisely the time such matters are meant to be raised. Chairman Byron Henry ruled him out of order.  I encourage every precinct chair to consult our parliamentarian and determine whether that ruling was proper.  I believe it was not.

 

May 7, 2026 — A 12–0 Vote, Ignored


The Candidate Committee met and voted unanimously - 12 to 0 - to endorse Rod Vilhauer in the Frisco mayoral runoff (June 13, 2026). The result was formally forwarded to Chairman Byron Henry with a request to call a special meeting. He refused, claiming the Candidate Committee meeting was improperly held. A unanimous endorsement vote, set aside by one man.

 

May 15, 2026 – Chairman Squashes any Special Meeting

 

Endorsement consideration for the Frisco mayoral runoff should have been allowed at the May 4 EC meeting. Despite a groundswell calling for a Special Meeting, Chairman Byron Henry killed the idea — see attached e-mail in PDF (Gmail - EC Special Meeting Request.-2.pdf).

 

May 22, 2026 — The Chairman Goes Silent


Despite a regularly scheduled Executive Committee meeting on the books for June 1, 2026, Chairman Byron Henry failed to issue the required 10-day meeting call. No explanation. No cancellation vote by the EC. Simply — silence.

 

May 22, 2026 — Precinct Chairs Follow the Rules


Precinct 126 Chair Rachel Elliott did what the CCGOP Bylaws expressly authorize. She called the June 1 meeting under Article V, Section 2 of our bylaws, which states:

 

"In the event the County Chair cancels or fails to call a regular meeting, one fourth (1/4) or 50 of the Precinct Chairs, whichever is fewer, may, by written demand, call the regular meeting. Notice of such meeting shall be sent by surface or electronic mail to all members of the Executive Committee at least 10 days prior to the meeting."

 

The Chairman cannot unilaterally 'move' a scheduled EC meeting without the body's approval—and that approval never happened. Worse, shifting June 1st to June 22nd would move the meeting across biennium’s entirely. Since no vote occurred, the June 1st meeting was simply canceled.

 

The notice went out. It was timely. It was proper. It was by the book.

 

May 24, 2026 — The Chairman Responds with Accusations


Rather than acknowledge the Bylaws, Chairman Byron Henry sent an e-mail calling the meeting call "fraudulent", claiming the agenda was "made up" and accusing precinct chairs of “hijacking” the CCGOP. He declared that no official business would be conducted and no minutes recorded.

 

None of that is supported by our rules.  Article V, Section 2 exists precisely for this situation.  Precinct chairs followed it to the letter. Calling that "fraud" is not only inaccurate — it is an affront to the chairs who were simply doing their job.

 

May 28, 2026 — Three Precinct Chairs Sued for Following the Rules


This is where things took a serious turn. The Collin County Republican Party (Plaintiff) — our own party — filed suit (without EC approval) and sought a Temporary Restraining Order against three precinct chairs: Rachel Elliott, Jim Herblin, and Lee Breckenridge-Moore.

 

The notice given to Defendants (Elliott, Herblin and Breckenridge-Moore) was, to put it plainly, a failure of basic due process. Elliott was not properly noticed at all. Herblin and Breckenridge-Moore received notice 15 minutes before the 1:00 PM hearing. None of the three were able to attend. The hearing proceeded without them.

.

The petition alleged the June 1 meeting was improperly called. Again — read Article V, Section 2. The meeting was called in full compliance with our Bylaws.

 

June 1, 2026 — Justice Denied at the Emergency Hearing


Defendants requested an emergency 9:00 AM hearing and came prepared — with evidence, documents, and testimony — to demonstrate that the June 1 meeting was properly called. Plaintiffs told the court they were not prepared for an evidentiary hearing. Notably, they had been prepared enough four days earlier to file a lawsuit and obtain a TRO while the defendants were not even in the room.

 

The court declined to hear evidence. No testimony was taken. No documents were reviewed. The TRO was upheld on the strength of Plaintiffs' pleadings alone — pleadings that conflict directly with the plain language of our own Bylaws.

 

June 9, 2026 — Plaintiffs Walk Away


Less than two weeks after filing suit, Plaintiffs nonsuited the entire case — dismissing both the petition and the TRO. The case is over. Three precinct chairs were sued, dragged into court, and denied the opportunity to present evidence — for calling a meeting that was fully authorized under our rules. And then the party simply walked away. Again, no EC vote taken.

 

What This Means for All of Us

 

Take a step back and look at the full picture:

 

·        Our Chairman used his party title to endorse his own law partner in a local election.

·        At the May 4 EC meeting, Chairman Byron Henry repeatedly — and improperly — ruled Precinct Chair 137, John Donovan, out of order.

·        A unanimous Candidate Committee endorsement was dismissed without legitimate basis.

·        A properly noticed EC meeting was called in compliance with the Bylaws — and the response was a lawsuit against three of our colleagues.

·        No EC vote was ever taken to sue — or non-suit — the three precinct chairs.

·        A proposed rules package — which Chairman Byron Henry helped develop — was quietly pulled (EC meeting of June 22) when it became clear it would not pass.

 

Our Bylaws exist to protect every precinct chair and to ensure this party is governed by its members — not by any one person. What has taken place in recent weeks is a test of whether those rules mean anything. Every precinct chair should read Article V, Section 2, review the facts above, and decide for themselves.

 

We are stronger than this, and our party deserves better. We cannot forget this - or it will happen again. Any precinct chair who wishes to discuss these matters further is encouraged to reach out directly.

 

Jim Herblin

Precinct Chair #240

 

May 15, 2026 email from B Henry below 







Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Brian Harrison and the Texas House

Dear Friends,

I have a good report to make on Brian Harrison, Texas State Representative, district 10, (https://ballotpedia.org/Brian_E._Harrison_(Texas)).  I heard him speak at Restore the Republic (RTR) in Little Elm on June 26, 2026.  In the past he worked in Washington in the first Trump administration.
In Austin he has worked against DEI (diversity-equity-inclusion).  He told us that DEI was a driving factor in new contracts. He sheds light on what is going on in Austin.  He told us that Texas supports illegal immigration by registering the vehicles of illegal aliens.
You can follow him on Facebook and X (twitter)
Brian Harrison was recently honored at an honors banquet in Tyler, Texas.
He is listed in the House of Good Cards, along with our own Keresa Richardson.
Brian Harrison

Keresa Richardson

Talarico
He told us that  James Talarico made Dustin Burrows Speaker of the Texas House.  In return Burrows appointed him to these committees:
Calendars Committee
Juvenile Justice & Family Issues Committee
Public Education Committee
The Calendars Committee decides which bill pass and which will die.  Burrows allowed Talarico to pass a bunch of bills, while blocking Harrison to very few bills.
One of Talarico's commercials in his run for U.S. Senate boasts of passing 60 bipartison bills.  Republlican Dustin Burrows created Talarico as viable candidate to run against our Republican candidate, Ken Paxton.
The Importance of Rules
The way that the Rules of the Texas House of Representatives are written have turned the Speaker of the House into a tyrant. I encourage everyone to read this small book:  Who Rules the Texas House?: How Constituent Sovereignty Has Been Usurped Over Time by Kent Grusendorf.

Any deliberative body that allows its rules to be changed to diminish the power of the membership and increase the power of the Chairman or President is going to get swindled.
The reason that Democrats can be in the minority and still control the Texas House, the reason that the Speaker of the Texas House is basically a tyrant is all due to changes to the House Rules.
This is why Precinct Chairs need to be attentive to changes to Party Rules, so they don't get swindled.
Conclusions
1.) Brian Harrison is worth following.  He tries to inform us.  He travelled to Little Elm to speak to a local club.  He travels to Tyler to participate in meetings there.  He's making an effort to keep us informed.
2.) Maybe everyone should read "Who Rules the Texas House?"
3.) Rules changes can be treacherous.
Thank you for your time.  Below is a copy of what Brian Harrison handed out at RTR.  
Robert
 

 

Monday, August 17, 2026

Texas Eagle Forum for the Grassroots

 Dear Friends,

If you want to keep abreast of what conservative Grassroots activists consider important, I suggest that you sign up with Texas Eagle Forum.  Some of the smartest and most dedicated conservatives that I know are with the Texas Eagle Forum organization.  You can explore their website: https://www.texaseagleforum.com/

They are very good at reviewing legislation and alerting us to important legislation.  You can sign up for their alerts.

One topic that they are bringing to our attention is Sharia Law.  At their website there is a link to an interview with Debbie Georgatos, our RNC Committeewoman, and with Cindi Castilla, president of Texas Eagle Forum.  The link looks like this;

You only need to listen to the first 20 minutes.  The host, Frank Gaffney, is one of the authors of "Sharia, The Threat to America."

At the Republican State Convention recently Texas Eagle Forum was one of the sponsors of a "Lunch and Learn" session, "Don't Sharia My Texas."  It was a very large room and it was standing room only.  People were lined up along the walls.  There were speakers who came from Europe to speak with us.

If you join the Texas Eagle Forum then you receive their newsletter, The Torch.
The February/March issue was "Understanding Islam and its History"
The April/May issue was "Understanding Islam: Demographic Jihad"

These ladies are over the target.  The simplest way to learn about Sharia is with a small book, Sharia Law for Non-Muslims by Bill Warner.  It's only 50 pages long and tells you the basics.  https://www.amazon.com/Sharia-Law-Non-Muslims-Taste-Islam/dp/0979579481/
This small book doesn't expand to larger issues.  It is intended to explain the fundamentals of Sharia Law.
If you are concerned about the broader effects of Sharia Law, you might investigate, Shariah: The Threat To America , which I mentioned earlier.
One author of the introduction to the book is a retired Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), another is a retired Director of the CIA.  It's a serious book written for you by a host of experts.

This is an important time for us as Grassroots volunteers and activists to be paying attention to what is going on.  The Texas Eagle Forum helps us stay informed.  I recommend them to you.

Thank you for caring about our state and our country.

Robert

Best Version of the Federalist

Friends,

I recommend this version of The Federalist: The Gideon Editionhttps://www.amazon.com/Federalist-Alexander-Hamilton/dp/0865972893/ 

There are footnotes in many of the Federalist papers. There is a glossary and 10 appendixes.  There is a copy of the Constitution with cross references to Federalist.  The binding is first rate.

 I recommend reading The Federalist with a friend.  Each article is worth discussing.

Robert


 

Report on the meeting about Iran

Friends,

On Thursday July 30 I attended a meeting in Richardson sponsored by the American Jewish Conservatives.  I went because Congressman Keith Self lent his name to the event.  It was awesome.  First, one of the speakers was Abteen Vaziri.  He was born in Iran.  His father was in the Shah's air force.  He had good insight on Iran to share with us.  He was blunt in telling us that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is crazy.

The speaker who stole the show was Rabbi Pesach Wolicki  Anytime you see his name on a program, go!  What he told us in the meeting he has written in the Jerusalem Post.

How America can actually win the war against Iran - opinion
by Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-902932
Read his article.  But here is the gist of it.
First, demand public proof of life of Mojtaba Khamenei;, their leader.  He is likely dead or incapacitated.
Second, give Israel a free hand to finish Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Third, call the Iranian people back into the streets, and protect them.
Fourth, stop bombing infrastructure and start hunting the enforcers.
Fifth, shut down Pakistan’s overland lifeline to Iran.
None of this requires American troops on Iranian soil.

Victory requires a shift in focus: away from the assumption that enough physical destruction will eventually break the regime and toward the more precise and more honest recognition of what the regime actually fears, namely, its own people seeing it exposed as weak, illegitimate, and unable to protect its own enforcers.

Proof of life of the supreme leader, a free hand for Israel against Hezbollah, protection for protesters, pressure on the IRGC instead of the power grid, and an end to Pakistan’s sanctions-busting trade routes – these are the fastest routes to the outcome everyone says they want: an Iran without this regime.
Rabbi Pesach Wolicki told us that there are people in the American Establishment who tell Trump to avoid Regime Change.  Well, what George Bush tried certainly failed:  the USA creating an Army, a police force, and a government for Afghanistan failed.  That is what the Bush Administration thought of Regime Change: building a country.
But Regime Change in Iran doesn't have to be like that.  Killing with drones all the thugs who run check points and terrorize the people would lead to the Regime collapsing.  Accept that some chaos would arise and let the people of Iran deal with it themselves, without us.
The Establishment plan to make the Regime accept our conditions by destroying infrastructure and their economy has been proven by history to fail.  It  has not worked in Vietnam, it has not worked in WW2 Germany, and it has not worked in Cuba.  Destroy the thugs and let the people freely organize and let them overthrow their government.  Unleash the Israelis and it can happen.
Here is the meeting recorded on YouTube
Iran, Israel and America's Next Move!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMomMkOe_mM

I hope this is helpful to you.
Robert